How to Install MCP Servers in OpenAI Codex CLI
How to add MCP servers to the OpenAI Codex CLI — the [mcp_servers] tables in ~/.codex/config.toml, the codex mcp add command, and how to confirm tools loaded.
Step-by-step installation guide
Add the server with the CLI or config file
Run "codex mcp add <name> -- <command> [args...]", or add an [mcp_servers.<name>] table to ~/.codex/config.toml. Codex uses TOML, not JSON, so each server is its own table.
Set command, args, and env
Each server table takes a "command" string and an "args" array. Put secrets in a nested [mcp_servers.<name>.env] table rather than in the args.
Verify inside a session
Start Codex and run the /mcp command to list configured servers and their tools. If a server is missing, check the TOML syntax — a malformed table silently drops the entry.
Configuration
config.tomlLocationUser (global)
~/.codex/config.tomlSnippet
# ~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.filesystem]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/path/to/allowed/dir"]
[mcp_servers.filesystem.env]
# API_KEY = "..."Popular MCP servers to try in OpenAI Codex CLI
- The official MCP server for AllMCPs.com - submit and manage tools directly from your AI. The open directory for MCP servers. Connect Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and AI agents to databases, tools, files, and APIs. Explore 10,000+ servers. AllMCPs is the premier, open directory for discovering, evaluating, and installing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to equip AI agents and LLMs with real-world superpowers.93 20
- Tools to read, search, and manipulate Git repositories.72 0
- Define, ship & query your analytics tracking from one source of truth, trusted by humans and agents.68 0
- Influxdb3 MCP ServerInfluxDataOfficial MCP server for InfluxDB 3 Core/Enterprise/Cloud Dedicated63 0
- Scan/purge hidden text & score web domains: TLS, DNS, headers, speed. Free scans, $0.01 actions. The Tools:
- text_scan_v1 — free Scans a text string for invisible Unicode characters, homoglyphs, and normalization issues. Returns a risk score, a list of flagged characters, and detected homoglyphs. Never modifies the input text.
- text_purge_v1 — $0.01 per call Removes invisible Unicode characters and replaces homoglyphs in a text string, then normalizes the result. Returns the cleaned text plus a before-and-after risk comparison.
- domain_check_score_v1 — free Overall score, per-category scores, and how many findings each category raised. Use it to triage: rank a list of domains, confirm one is healthy, or decide whether the full report is worth pulling. It tells you which categories are weak and how many issues they hold, but not what the issues are.
- domain_check_score_batch_v1 — free The same triage scores for up to 100 domains in a single call. One score summary per distinct domain: overall score, per-category scores, and how many findings each category raised. Never the findings themselves.
- domain_check_v1 — $0.01 per call Full report for one domain: weighted score out of 100, per-category breakdown, and every individual finding with a prioritised remediation order.
-
domain_check_batch_v1 — from $0.005 per domain
The same full report for up to 100 domains in a single call, with one payment for the whole batch instead of one per domain. Both cheaper per domain and much faster than calling
domain_check_v1in a loop.
62 0 - MCP Server for Integrating LINE Official Account62 0
- Hub MCPdockerOfficial MCP server to interact with Docker Hub, providing access to repositories, hub search and Docker Hardened Images62 0
- Official Vocuno plugin for Claude that connects to Vocuno's remote MCP server for AI song generation, covers, remixes, stem separation, voice conversion, audio editing, mixing, mastering, and music analysis.58 0
- S2 Sdk Typescripts2-streamstoreOfficial MCP server for the S2.dev serverless stream platform.57 0
- MCP & Agent Skills for Automated Documentation, and codebase conventions + context55 25
- Infobip MCPInfobipOfficial Infobip MCP server for integrating Infobip global cloud communication platform. It equips AI agents with communication superpowers, allowing them to send and receive SMS and RCS messages, interact with WhatsApp and Viber, automate communication workflows, and manage customer data, all in a production-ready environment.50 0
- Whisper Windows MCPeviscerationsWindows-native local audio and video transcription using whisper.cpp with Vulkan GPU acceleration. No cloud APIs, no Python. Batch processing, multilingual support, model management, and background job handling built in.34 3
Frequently Asked Questions
Run codex mcp add <name> -- <command> [args...], or add an [mcp_servers.<name>] table with command and args to ~/.codex/config.toml. Use /mcp inside Codex to confirm it loaded.
The values carry over but the format does not: Codex reads TOML, so convert each mcpServers JSON entry into an [mcp_servers.<name>] table with the same command, args, and env.
Codex supports stdio servers and streamable HTTP servers configured with a url field. Check the Codex docs for the current remote and OAuth options, since support has expanded across releases.